Tonight I spent some time making up my first ever Amazon Wish List.  Why?  Because I wanted to browse around Amazon.com, not buy anything, but not waste my time either.  Now I have a good list of all the things that I was able to find in a short period of time that I will, one day, probably end up buying.

At first glance the list may seem a bit over the top.  It is.  It consists of a 42″ LCD HDTV, a few lenses for my DSLR that are in the $1,000+ range, and a few other miscellaneous things that one might consider “extravagent”.  Again, it is.  But I have good taste (*snickers*) and this list is really more for me than anyone else.

Should someone want to pick up one of the more inexpensive items on the list as a thank you for something they’ve found on my site, some of my projects that I’ve done over the years, or because they’d rather do that than owe me a beer “forever”, now they know where to look.

Source: My Amazon.com Wish List.

(Side note: I added this to my sidebar on the home page and about page along with a link to buy Threadless tees.  If you buy a tshirt from Threadless using that link I get a credit towards buying a shirt for myself.)

My telescope

Last night the moon was nearly full and the sky was crystal clear. So I decided to take my Meade 114 eq-asb telescope that Eliza bought me for our seventh wedding anniversary out for a spin to do something relatively simple; look at the surface of the moon.

At least I thought it would be easy. The moon being the nearest celestial object to Earth one would think it would be easy to zone in on it, look at its surface, and get back inside. Not when you have no idea how to properly use your telescope it would seem.

I did manage to see a little bit of what I wanted but I really need to start taking this telescope thing much more seriously. Here is a photo I took of the moon last night that really does not do any justice for the brilliance of the moon. As with all good things in life, using a telescope takes time and effort to master – and I look forward to trying again on the next clear night.

Oh, on a somewhat related note I read over on Wil Wheaton’s blog today that a free eBook is available called What’s Up – 365 Days of Skywatching which gives you a quick, easy, and printable reference of the night sky for each day of the year for 2007. Brilliant.

If you have any other tips, tricks, or resources that you’ve found useful – please feel free to pass them along. I’d love to get better at using my telescope so that it is much more enjoyable and less frustrating next time.

My gift: a dead field mouse

There is a funny story behind this mouse. Shortly after moving into the new apartment my cat, Pickles (photos), has been transfixed on one of our baseboard heaters. We’d all be having a great time in the living room (our other cat Pookers included) and he’d be in the dining area, with both eyes focused on this heater. At first, I thought that he was looking at a pipe that was under the heater and was mistaking it for an animal. We’d kid about their being a mouse or something that he is watching, but even when I’d sit with him for a few minutes we never saw anything. So, I guess we just chocked it up to him being a psycho.

Well, we (mostly me) were proved wrong this morning. And man was he happy about it. I woke up, opened the bedroom door, and he was all over me. He normally is very nice in the morning but he was being absolutely insane. He was very proud of his gift.

[tags]pickles, animals, cat, field mouse, rodents, gifts, photos[/tags]
[slug]pickles-gift[/slug]

I’d say that it began in July 2002. My wife Eliza and I like to catch the live Apple Keynote’s whenever we can. The July 2002 broadcast introduced the iMac 17″ flat panel, preloaded with OS X. I mentioned to Eliza that I thought that this would be a great machine to get acquainted with Apple’s products. Seeing some of the functionality of OS X, I knew that I wanted to get in somehow and the iMac seemed like a cool piece of hardware to being that journey.

On August 27th 2002, at Carrabba’s Bar and Grille in Orlando, Florida – Eliza and I exchanged anniversary gifts. I am not going to mention my gift, because over the last 4+ years of marriage (now 7+ years as of this writing), Eliza has always outdone me in the gift department. But I digress. So she hands me a small box as my anniversary gift. I open the wrapping, tip the box to dump the contents, and I am greeted with a small packet of some type of chemical used to keep the contents of a package “dry”. Hmmm.

You can ask Eliza, I put the box down thinking that there was no gift in the box. She told me to pick it up and look inside. I did. Inside was a small, cut out, paper iMac. Again I just stared at it, having no clue what it symbolized. And then I looked up at her and realized that she had actually gotten me an iMac for our anniversary. It literally took me 30 seconds to figure it out. I was floored.

At first, Eliza thought that I wasn’t excited about the gift. On the contrary, I was unable to process the reality that I now owned an iMac. Or even the fact that she bought me such an elaborate and expensive gift. Never did I expect this gift. Truly one of the biggest surprises I have ever received in my life. It’s not everyday that your truly surprised. Even on days when you expect to be surprised, you usually have an inkling as to what is coming.

Excitement turned into absolute torture as I knew that I wouldn’t be able to play with my new toy till after our vacation. Imagine this and put yourself in my shoes. Twelve-hundred miles from home, having driven instead of flown, and about 4 days from heading for home. Little did I know, the iMac was waiting for me at home already. Ugh! Matt (who was with us in Florida too) and Eliza both can attest to the fact that I was in extreme pain for the entire ride home. Picture this, I drove the better part of the trip home, and then didn’t go to bed for a few days as I played with the iMac. Literally.

To Eliza: Thank you for one of the greatest gifts ever. You are truly the best gift giver, and maybe someday I can surprise you as you’ve surprised me for so many years. I love you.

It has now been a almost 5 years since I’ve delved into the Mac OS and I have yet to turn back. I owe my computing bliss to Eliza.

What makes this gift all the sweeter is that I didn’t have to drive either! We opted to take a bus trip down where they provide food and drink, a movie on the ride to and from, and the tickets – all in one package. I am not a big fan of driving let alone driving in Philadelphia during an Eagles game.

Pre-game at Lincoln Financial Field

We had great seats. We got an email one-day prior to the game asking if we’d like to upgrade our seats for only 10-additional dollars. After consulting the seating chart we both decided it seemed like it was worth it, and boy was it ever worth it. Our seats rivaled those closest to the field – yet we both feel we had a better view.

Panoramic view of the field from our seats

Even though the Packers did not win, we still had a great time and were treated fairly well by both fans and staff. We’re looking forward to doing it again sometime.

[tags]football, anniversary, gifts, eliza devroe, colin devroe, philadelphia, eagles, packers, monday night football, lincoln financial field, photos, panorama, nfl[/tags]

This year, for our 7th wedding anniversary (which isn’t until Sunday but we can almost never wait to exchange gifts until the day of), she didn’t fail to amaze me with great and thoughtful gifts.

The first gift she gave me was one that I had specifically requested. We do this thing where we tell each other what we’d like and it is up to us whether we follow that list or not. Seasons 5 and 6 of The West Wing was the first gift, and since I already own Seasons 1 through 4, it was great to get these two. Yes I realize I am slightly behind the times, but I like the West Wing and I had not had the chance to watch it on TV.

My second gift was a huge Steelers blanket made out of sweatshirt material. It commemorates not only the Super Bowl victory of the Steelers but also the 40th anniversary of the Super Bowl itself. In a word, its sweet.

The third gift (yes, I got three gifts, I told you she was good) was a Meade telescope. Read that sentence again, I’ll give you time. I can’t even remember how long I’ve wanted a telescope, it has been that long. This is the first telescope I’ve ever owned, and so after I do an ample amount of research, testing, and playing with my new toy – I will write more on the subject of telescopes and in particular my telescope. Haha, a telescope!

Eliza, I know I’ve told you to your face more times than you’d probably be able to tolerate – but thank you for all the thoughtful gifts, I love you, and I can’t wait until next year.

[tags]anniversary, gifts, eliza, telescope, west wing, blanket, steelers[/tags]

The pot Eliza bought me

I’ve wanted one of these porcelain cast iron pots for a very long time. You’ll often times see these used by professionals, on television, or by the more serious “chef” in your family.

Eliza surprised me by picking up a 6.5qt. version for me. I can’t be happier, as she was able not only to find a great deal, but the quality of the pot is extraordinary. These suckers are well made, sturdy, heavy, and gorgeous.

The very same night she gave it to me, I made some deep fried chicken in it. I made the oil temperature a bit too hot, so I burned the first 2 pieces, but they were test pieces anyway. This pot does an amazing job with heat disbursement. I had absolutely no trouble bringing the oil up-to-temperature, and then being able to adjust it.

I’m looking forward to using this for many kitchen projects, along with the cook book of course.

Thank you, again, for a great gift Eliza.